11:44 AM. I'm sorry, and the conservatives are welcome to chew me out on this in the comments, but I've concluded that this is a pick that looks better on paper than in practice. She's charming and likable, but she's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined.
11:35 AM. Another big question: how will SNL and Jay Leno react? That Palin has a fairly discernible accent will become part of her caricature.
11:32 AM. She definitely comes across as very grounded and normal. The question is: would Americans want their next-door-neighbor to be the Vice President?
11:29 AM. Great visual: Palin walking out with her daughter. Not-so-great visual: Palin embracing McCain and looking like his daughter.
11:21 AM. Wow, listen to how much McCain's messaging has changed overnight. He's now running as the Washington reformer/outsider again.
11:20 AM. Have to say, this is the most fired up I've seen a McCain crowd in a while.
11:17 AM. I'm having a couple of problems with my publishing platform this morning, but let's try this anyway.
8.29.2008
Palin VP Rollout Liveblog
@ 12:16 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
359 comments
If it were ok to pick a pro-choice VP, he would have picked Lieberman.
Well, McCain sure impressed me with his spontaneous impulsiveness, despite being like a 100 years old. The pick of Pali reinforces his message of being a maverick reformer.
But how's this going to sit with a GOP that traditionally backs older white men on their tickets. And to a South that doesn't know who the hell Sarah Palin is?
Will somebody PLEASE ask John McCain if he thinks Sarah Palin deserves equal pay for equal work?
Good comment about the south. I wonder if this even brings NC into play
FYI Palins husband works for BP......
Landslide?.
She seems more like a bounce pick...... may fall in the long run when people know she is more than a women and has this scandal...
McCain is reading from notes ?
That just confirms that he is still in the 20th Century [or the 19th]...
Is there a bigger hypocrite on earth than Johm McPOW??
Unions? ROFL what a maroon.
I'm sure her being a school secretary will be of interest to the members of the G8.
ummmm... if Mccain wanted to pick a VP whose parents raised kids that 'excelled at sports' why didn't he pick Lebron James' mom? doesn't that tie up Ohio just as well....
OK, here comes what's her name...
seriously, see if he can pronounce it right ! he didn't !
I think picking Palin undermines McCain's message of "More of the Same"
Sarah has locked up the Tina Fey & librarian vote ! [bad joke]
I'm really disappointed in McCain over this pick. She has far less experience than Tim Kaine and is a heartbeat away from the Presidency with a 72 year old who may be President? This pick really shows bad judgment. It's a pure political move but not a good one for governing at all.
I'm waiting for the first debate, when Obama asks John McCain "Have I passed your 'Commander-in-Chief' test? Do I have the experience to assume the presidency?"
If he says yes, he eats crow for the last year.
If he says no, he leaves open a line of attack charging him with incredible hypocrisy and/or indefinably large levels of idiocy.
People will first see "Woman?!" and be surprised.
They will then see the experience, and think "Wait, that's IT?"
They will then weigh the McCain message, and think "What the fuck?"
This was a bold pick, but like every other pick in the GOP VP field this year, it wasn't the right pick. That's because there was no right pick this year, just varying degrees of wrong picks. And this wrong pick sends McCain completely off-message with about 70 days before the general election.
I don't think that's a good sign for the GOP.
They look kind of odd together... like she is his daughter
Taking "experience" off the table.
The Sarah Quayle Palin pick is an abandonment of the "Obama is not ready to lead" attack lines. Those are dead, and to be honest, while that line didn't work for Hillary and it had limited traction for McCain, it still had some traction. That attack line is gone.
Quayle, I mean Palin is also a an ideologue, on choice, on the environment, on energy -- all the way down the line. This an ideological pick in an election where self-identified Republicans are a dying breed and Democratic self-identification is skyrocketing. McCain has abandoned any notion of playing for the center. He's looking to shore up his right flank and hoping that the Evangelical Right can somehow drag McCain over the line.
Update on Palin: Ouch!
In an interview just a month ago, she dissed the job, saying it didn’t seem “productive.”
In fact, she said she doesn’t know what the vice president does.
Larry Kudlow of CNBC’s “Kudlow & Co.” asked her about the possibility of becoming McCain ticket mate.
Palin replied: “As for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.”
Sweet Jesus, what was McCain thinking.
This just in, Fats Limbaugh is eating Viagra like popcorn as he watches her....
But seriously...
Congrats to McCain for the Palin selection. [I am serious]
It is about time that the old GOP nominate someone other than an old white man. Welcome to the 20st century - hope you make the leap soon to the 21st Century soon.
However, I had been predicting Hutchinson who would have been a formidable & qualified VP.
Palin ? a young, pretty, inexperienced, small town, small time, small remote state newbie pol already under an ethical cloud of abuse of power while in office less than 2 years whose major accomplishment prior to Mayor of a tiny town on the tundra was as a Beauty Queen & TV sports reporter...
hhhmmm, sorry but that smacks of condescending to all women to me IMHO.
also, the candidate she is pushing for REP in the AK primary couldn't even win this week if I recall - so much for her 'popularity' & influence at home apparently...
experience ? nope
ethics ? questionable
age ? meets the minimum [but makes John look even older]
politics ? hard right base
surprise? ok, yeah but a "what were you thinking' as opposed to WOW
Rice would have been better than Palin, but I wish them well. This pick smacks of deperation which does remind me of 1984...
I think she will do for McCain what Ferraro did for Mondale - in fact that is the best comparison.
Joe BIDEN will destroy her.
Another take on McCain's insanity:
So it's official - John McCain has thrown a Hail Mary and tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The trad med types are ga-ga about what a game-changing choice Palin is. And they're right. It is a game-changer. The Palin pick takes a race already leaning toward Obama and pushes it further into his corner.
Why? Because Sarah Palin is the most unqualified VP nominee in modern history, with the possible exception of Admiral Stockdale.
She's worse than Quayle.
After his selection in 1988, Dan Quayle was rightly lambasted as a dim, inexperienced lightweight with no real pertinent experience who was named by George H. W. Bush as a gimmick - a case of an old, out-of touch candidate trying to appear relevant by teaming up with a much younger pol. Now, Palin's not Quayle - by all accounts, she's quite bright. But she's fantastically inexperienced, far more so than Quayle was when he was tapped. And she possesses an attribute far worse than Quayle's stupidity - she's a big corrupt wheel in Alaska's big corrupt Republican Party, arguably the most corrupt political apparatus in the United States.
We're told that McCain really wanted to pick his old friend Joe Lieberman to run with him, but that Karl Rove and the rest of the elite Republican politburo nixed the idea, and told McCain that he had to take a conservative. And as he has at every step of his campaign, the one-time "maverick" sold out to the venal, icy core of the Republican leadership, and acquiesced by selecting Palin. Palin is really a Republican after Rove's heart - she's a product of the party that produced the indicted Ted Stevens and ethically tarred Don Young, and she's embroiled in a Troopergate scandal of her own, with state investigators looking at serious allegations that Palin abused her office by pressuring the state Public Safety Commissioner to fire "an Alaska state trooper involved in a rough divorce from Palin's sister." Sounds like a woman after Karl Rove's heart.
In addition to further associating McCain with the Republican culture of corruption, the Palin pick undermines one of his main anti-Obama narratives. It's going to be laughable to hear McCain assail Obama's supposed lack of experience after naming the first-term governor -- only one-and-a-half years into her term -- of the 47th largest state to be his running mate. Palin lacks any foreign policy experience, and is bereft of even the two core areas of policy expertise that governors are supposed to bring to a ticket -- ag policy (Alaska doesn't have much in the way of traditional agriculture) and urban affairs (Anchorage is the 65th largest city in the US, behind giants such as Corpus Christi). She's easily the least experienced running mate in recent memory, which is pretty scary, given McCain's age and his history of cancer.
By picking Palin, McCain revealed his desperation to make a splash to rival the genuine excitement generated by the Obama campaign. But desperation leads to poor decisions -- and McCain's Hail Mary, like most last second desperation moves, is destined to fail miserably. He's smeared himself with the pungent mud of Alaska Republican corruption, while cutting the legs out from one of his most reliable attacks against Obama. And he's presented Americans with the prospect of electing a dangerous neophyte to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, behind a man whose life expectancy is less than two presidential terms.
We all expected McCain to pick someone underwhelming to run with him. But we never could have expected a pick worse than Quayle. Yet that's what we got.
Thanks, John!
She seems fairly sincere... but not realistic as an actual president. Seems kind of immature...
Her son is in the army as well-so that cancels out Beau Biden....
How can McCain run as a washington outsider if he's been in washington for over 30 years???????/
OBAMA landslide.
As an Obama supporter, I am literally jumping for joy.
Palin completely eliminates McCain's strongest argument, which was his experience/qualifications.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! :-)
Joe BIDEN will destroy her.
That is SOOOO sexist!
(just filling in til VC gets here)
"How can McCain run as a washington outsider if he's been in washington for over 30 years???????/"
Clearly you've forgotten where he was before that. POWPOWPOW
Palin: "and I was my high school class president..."
While I think the pick smacks of a desperate loser, I do not minimize her. She is intelligent and fiercely competitive. But she takes away many arguments the McPOW campaign uses. And they are asking a lot of someone who knows nothing but "parrot points". I guess there will be no substance from anyone on that ticket.
Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she's not more of the same. Big Oil, anti-choice and corrupt. A Republican pick to the core!
She is really good...I have a great feeling about the McCain/Palin ticket. IMO McCain's chances of winning this thing probably just doubled. Just think about a possible 2012 Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton match-up...now that would be fun.
How can McCain run as a washington outsider if he's been in washington for over 30 years???????/
You see he is a maverick. Furthermore,
Look today in PA how Biden will destroy her...lol.
I laugh by advance.
We have brought all the shrill Obamabots out of the woodwork. So many names I have never seen before here and in the other post.
Two observations: you all are concerned to be talking this up so much and
No one is talking about Obama and his convention anymore.
Short run mission accomplished.
Now can we all get back to talking about Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko and Rev. Wright?
"and I was my high school class president..."
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Star.. Hillary would destroy her. Palin is no Hillary.
"Not-so-great visual: Palin embracing McCain and looking like his daughter."
LOL, I can imagine.
The late night shows are gonna be feasting on this pick for McWeeks.
This woman apparently had a bright future in the Republican Party. WHY would she hitch a ride on the Hail Mary Express?
Women are tough to attack politically. The Obama camp should ignore her and concentrate on McCain.
That's what fun about you winguts starbase. If reality sucks for you, you change the channel to gooper fantasy.
She just bragged about standing up to the "good old boys network." That's not gonna play well in the South.
This grabs the spotlight. But it does not grab the initiative - in fact, it gives it up. It's like a move in Go which is too aggressive, you end up defending it for the next 5 moves, even if your attack is successful it is not worth it.
Obama has the luxury to just continue with the same strategy. He can wait for Palin to screw up, if she's gonna, or not to, if she doesn't. And he gains some perfect armor against the best attacks the GOP had. Inexperienced? Hah, especially on national security. Gets all the media unfairly? Let's see them pull that one two weeks from now. Dogwhistles about "taking a job he's not qualified for" or whatever? Also getting toothless.
And I bet anything that the McCain camp will badly overplay their hand on sexism at some point, as anyone does when they finally get a chance to respond to what they feel is an unfair attack (identity politics).
This is an impressive move, but I think it's a strategic disaster for McCain.
I have to say I am not terribly impressed by her performance at the podium. And I am really at all convinced by the visual.
I think McCain might get a short term bounce out of this, and may pick up one or two women voters, but I am not convinced. If the vice presidential nomination is about being surrogate in chief then I think in the long run Biden beats Palin. Of course that doesn't mean that Obama beats McCain.
She comes off s a nice person-a horrible speaker. Her accent is rough. Shes no Biden or Obama.. shes no Clinton\
I can see her giving McPOW a slight bump... and then she fades. If Biden shreds her in the debate...... its over.
Pete Kent--
Nah, we'd rather talk about the Keating Five and Carol McCain.
well at least she is shorter than mccain.
Is it just me or is her voice, well sorta 'annoying'?
She speaks OK & seems sincere but sounds like she is in her 30's & looks like it too.
Actually her twangy northwoods voice is almost out of 'Fargo', yah rather than 'Northern Exposure' or 'men in trees'. I grew up in MN & she sounds like people from the north woods...
She kinda looks like the best friend from NNYC on 'MIT', no ?
anyway, the fisherman/lumberjack vote is a lock.
But sorry GOP, she is fresh - but comes across as a total rookie with enthusiasm rather than accomplishments...
will she attack the DEMs or just push Johnny Mac ? she is pushing the troops left & right - oh, she is commander of the AK National Guard & her son enlisted...
Has she ever even been overseas I wonder ?
Oh my god. On the C-Span feed right now, they've got a giant "COUNTRY FIRST" banner hanging up as a backdrop behind the audience. But someone's standing up and blocking the letter O.
I actually think she's a good pick for McCain, because it does 3 things for him.
1: I don't think she's as socially conservative as the comments indicate (see her stances and on glbt issues in AK)- this helps reinforce the "McCain as Maverick" theme
2: She's supported drilling in ANWR, and her husband is an oil company exec- this gives credence to McCain's "Drill now" approach, and presents a face in response to Obama's "Windfall profits tax on oil companies" (I can picture Palin asking Obama, "Senator, why are you so eager to take away my husband's money?")
3: Most significantly, it gives the disaffected Hillary voters something to vote FOR rather than against. Instead of pulling the lever simply as an act of protest, they can realistically have a shot at electing a woman to high office.
I am sorry everybody. I cannot see how this is a "safe choice". This speech is awful. I have to be honest I don't get it. Does not make any sense.
Shes sucking up to the hillary supporters now....
This is off topic for this thread, but I suspect you aren't reading the older thread comments any more:
You really need to correct your error from the other day regarding the timing of Ohio early voting. The timeframe you published (and made a big deal of) is actually the overlap between the voter registration window and the early voting window. For that week, voters will be able to register and immediately vote - something that the Republicans are up in arms about.
The actual early voting window in Ohio extends up until the election.
f-ing neocon douchebags in the background of Palin's speech, clapping smugly when she mentions Hillary Clinton. Looking at their NASCAR buddies next to them, thinking "checkmate".
Matt-how does your spouse being an oil exec equal a good thing??
Did she just say "nu-cu-lur"?
Wow, these Hillary supporters are excited:
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=26089
She did. she just said nucular.
voting for more R's is not change of any kind...
how can they say they have a 'cause' when its just more for the cronys and nothing for us?
HRC: "Palin, keep my name out your mouth..."
McCain can forget about Ohio and Pennsylvania. He's basically conceded the economy as an issue.
Its easy to see why. This is an attempt to plug that enthusiasm gap.
Grim-those are the crazy cat women that sit home all day and moan about everything
The general people are the ones you need to watch out for
I called my mother earlier about it... she was an ex-clinton supporter and hated this idea. She felt they were picking her just because she was a women
I agree that Palin looked anything but presidential. Comparing that speech with Obama's last night would be embarrasing for the Republicans.
(and by the way the Democrats have a ready made attack dog for Palin in Hillary Clinton) (And are the GOP serious about being the party of change after 8 years of the Bush administration)
The question is: would Americans want their next-door-neighbor to be the Vice President?
Um, hell yes.
Politicians should be common people, called off the farm, factory line, hospital, etc to serve for a few years, and then return home when they're done.
Citizen Grim--aren't those the same Hillary supporters who were saying that Kathleen Sebelius would be a slap in the face because Hillary deserved to be the first woman, not her?
Can't wait until the Daily Show tonight!
SteelRain63 said...
"She seems more like a bounce pick...... may fall in the long run when people know she is more than a women and has this scandal..."
The expression "heartbeat away from the presidency" has never been more relevant. He'll get a bounce from her alright...but she'll be doing it on his lap. Lucky Dog.
I'd love to be an insider in the Obama campaign right now. Surely, in between serious discussions about strategy, they're laughing their asses off.
She definitely comes across as very grounded and normal.
That Palin has a fairly discernible accent will become part of her caricature.
Well? Is she normal or weird? Get your story straight, Nate, before you start tossing out contradictory Olbermann-approved talking points.
I as a proud conservative will chew you out Nate. Your blog tried to be an objective one when you started, and your following the path of MSNBC, becoming the next DailyKos/MoveOn.org.
You are just like Obama, quick to belittle a smart move by John McCain. If you haven't noticed the media today, they are not covering Senator Obama's sermon last night, they are covering this smart move by John McCain.
Strong conservative. Proud Mother of 5 children, including an American Soldier.
You liberals were ready to attack Romney-Pawlenty-Lieberman; and now you see this wild card by McCain.
When MSNBC, yes this liberal network, praises this pick, you know it was smart.
McCain made the right move here.
Obama made the wrong move. Obama had the chance to seal the deal last week; and he blew it.
MCCAIN PALIN 08.
Nate's right about McCain...he finally feels like it's safe to run as McCain 2000 with this, and that populism's going to be really big this year--probably thought about it, remembered how he almost beat Bush and said "Hey, I know how to do that" and he's coming back with the Straight Talk Express 2.0--taxcuts4all.
Admiral Ackbar needs to run into Joe Biden before the VP debate and yell repeatedly "IT'S A TRAP" so that he won't screw it up and call her 'honey' or make a remark about her looks. Biden knows McCain well, and understands that all there is to know about McCain is that he thrives on being the biggest troll in the world; he trolled the VC's (though he was subjected to a vicious counter-troll), he almost trolled Bush straight off the Republican ticket, he trolled his first wife, and now that he's not encumbered by the arch-conservative straight jacket he's been wearing since February, he's going to try to troll Obama/Biden right off of their playbook. Cheeky, cheeky bastard, that McCain.
Nate is making the mistake of thinking that it matters whether the vp nom. seems presidential. It makes McCain look more presidential -at the moment, anyway- because it's a courageous choice. Of course, if Palin lacks substance and strength under the increased pressure then it becomes a foolhardy choice. This has to be played out over the next two months.
"She's charming and likable, but she's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined."
This is blatantly sexist, Nate.
William said...
"well at least she is shorter than mccain."
WIN. Spectacular pick, McDwarf!
Is she really a bad speaker?
Just don't attack her. Every attack against Palin other than experience will be viewed as sexist.
Imagine this question:
Why is she not presidential, because she is a woman?
""She's charming and likable, but she's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined."
This is blatantly sexist, Nate."
How is this sexist...it is the most accurate comment possible. It did not make any difference that he is a women. Her speech was awful and it seems as if I was watching a high school presidential election. That was not a presidential speech...that was a high school speech. No presence whatsoever. Unbelievable.
Most probable response from Obama: "I congratulate Senator McCain on a bold pick for VP nominee."
Let the GOP have their convention (with the Democratic rapid response team in action), see where things shake out.
After the GOP convention, send out Hillary for two weeks to re-iterate her "Why were you in it?" speech, pointing to the differences between herself and Palin (specifically, pro-choice/anti-choice), then leave Palin alone.
As I said in the prior thread, this reminds me of Mondale's pick of Ferraro in 1984. A woman with no national reputation outside of political junkie circles, a husband who may turn out to be a liability, a strong accent. IIRC, Ferraro caused an initial bump for Mondale, but ultimately was seen as little more than a gimmick in a year when the forces were overwhelmingly against the candidate making the woman VP pick.
I would welcome anyone to differentiate Palin strongly from Ferraro in 1984.
"It makes McCain look more presidential"
Yeah like the bride picking ugly bridesmaid dresses.
But true, all primaries other than Hillary need to just ignore her (Biden needs to figure out how to carve her liver during the debate without grossing people out though). Sexist and even possibly sexist attacks will just make people feel sorry for her and give them campaign distraction fodder.
I'm very proud where the country is right now. Kudos to Republicans. A typical GOP ticket would be slaughtered this year (can you imagine Romney/Guiliani. can you imagine Huckabee/anyone). Republicans are in an identity crisis, and their newer, more progressive alter-egos are taking over. I am hopeful this trend continues past this historic election.
This is so like the Harriet Myers pick for SCOTUS.
This is blatantly sexist, Nate.
Actually, your statement is sexist, as it doesn't say *why* she was Presidential. It just says that because she's a woman, you can't say she wasn't Presidential. That's sexism defined.
I love that she includes high school activities on her resume. So impressive.
I was surprised and thought it would be a good pick initially, both because she's fresh and because she's supposed to be pretty talented. But after reading a few comments on some blogs and online news, I realized how many obvious contradictions McCain had in picking Palin. McCain's argument on experience was demolished by this choice of a 2-year governor; his "putting country first" image is tarnished by what many could see as a pandering to Hillary voters; his "celebrity" charges are undermined by the fact that Palin IS a celebrity, having nearly won Miss Alaska.
Plus, Hillary voters would not be attracted to Palin's platform, the exact opposite of Hillary's. Indeed, they seem to be insulted by this pandering. And Palin is in the middle of a mini-controversy that may not have been so mini after all. On top of that, Palin beside McCain doesn't really look well on TV, and an Experience/change ticket (say, Gore/Lieberman) is always inferior to a Change/experience (say, Bush/Cheney) ticket. Add to that the alleged sexism in this country that demolished Hillary. It's a big gamble for McCain, and I think he made a big mistake that, along with the Dems' immensely successful conventions, would seal the race for Obama.
I agree, its not that shes a woman, its that shes really not a good speaker and has very little presence.
I have a feeling they did not really vett her that much or consider it seriously more than a week or two ago, and i dont think she had a lot of time to prepare.
i was concerned before i her saw her in real life. now i wonder if this is isnt a joke.
'carve her liver'? Seriously, I don't think the obama campaign will be employing 'Bob' any time soon!
SNL won't do anything because Lorne Michaels loves McCain like no other candidate before.
um, for what it's worth, porridgegun, you've lifted more than one of your posts in this thread directly from the front page at daily kos. and you haven't acknowledged as such. i don't know what markos moulitsas would call that, but i call it plagiarism.
She is not presidential NOT because she is a woman.
She is not presidential because she does not know what the Vice President does every day. The voters of PA, MI, OH, and VA want a base level of substance.
The rest is theater, misogyny, or wild-ass guessing.
Gallup 49-41
Some of you need to get out into the real world. For the moment this plays really well.
""She's charming and likable, but she's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined."
This is blatantly sexist, Nate."
no -- it's not
charming and likable are good traits to have, but to say they aren't enough is not sexist
There GOP convention just got very interesting.
Hey assmole, in a good debate blood is spilled. Part of the decision to pick her was probably that it sort of reigned Biden in during the debate, political operatives were sure he would have eviscerated Palwanty - sexist or not he can't be quite as brutal with a female without risking blowback.
I love how this site has turned into an Obama lovefest(not so much the stats, but definetly the comments and editorials). We'll see how this pick pans out over the next few weeks, but many of these posts are simply childish and contribute nothing to the discussion.
Experience?
Obama has only been a Sen since 2004, and since 2006 he has been running for POTUS. He doesn't have one day of executive experience. Palin is only the #2 and after her first day on the job as Gov. of Alaska had more executive experience than Obama.
Who will appeal more to the undecideds of the 2 VP picks?
Here is the bottom line. If this election is a referendum on Obama, Mcain wins. If this election is a referendum on Bush and Republicans, then Obama wins.
Opps..."the" not "there"
I just love the wingnuts who come here and whine that Nate isn't objective. From the very start, he identified himself as pro-Obama. His numbers are objective, but the rest is his analysis from a fully disclosed pro-Obama viewpoint. Get over it, 'wingers.
Now, as to Palin, I think it'll generate a stir because it's a she, but this she is the most manifestly unqualified veep since Dan Quayle.
Given McCain's age and obvious infirmity, people are going to be giving the Republican veep extra scrutiny, and Palin is going to fail that test.
I can picture Palin asking Obama, "Senator, why are you so eager to take away my husband's money?"
God, I hope she asks the question. The answer: "I don't want to take away your husband's money, or Cindy McCain's houses. But it would be nice if either of you had earned anything yourselves."
"[S]he's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined."
I think that's a good thing. Women haven't been able to "crack the ceiling" yet, and she's a smart, warm, intelligent, well-spoken, genuine woman.
GOP welcomes the experience debate
The Obama peeps here are talking their positions; coming up with banter and spin.
We're all good political junkies, let's be real:
She spoke with skill, inflected her voice, her eyes moved across the crowd and vertically, she didn't stammer once. She spoke with conviction. Is she Obama's oratory equal NO, no one is. Is she equal or better than Biden? Yes. Quayle was a deer in the headlights, she spoke with extreme confidence.
All the spins are noise. The American indy voters will decide if they like her. And she is very likeable. She'll go on Leno and show a great pic of herself holding up a 50 pound salmon. This women could go into any working class bar in the county and have evry guy in the place talking fishing and hockey with her.
She is extremely telegenic. She's attractive and is comfortable on camera. She's done sports broadcasting. Her husband's got a goatee and is a "Deadliest Catch" Alaska fisherman and oil field worker.
This pick is genius.
Backlash?
I conducted an informal focus group at lunch at a Max & Erma's in Columbus, Ohio with a group of middle-aged women (basically by me overhearing their conversation). They were not happy about the choice of Palin. They said that it was a slap in the face to women Clinton supporters to choose a younger, better looking, more inexperienced woman than Hillary, and, as one of them said, if they think that women are going to vote for McCain just because Palin is a woman "they've got another thing coming."
Jokes aside, I sincerely believe Mike Huckabee would've been a scary good running mate for McCain. Quite simply the man is the best candidate the Republicans have had since Ronnie Raygun. He would have energised the nutbase and appealed to working class voters. Alo, and this is an nimportant point, Huckabee was a huge hit on the talk shows. Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert really like the guy. Obama even said he was his favorite Republican.
But unfortunately, the neocons and the Rove-ites would never have allowed it.
It's going to be fun to watch the Mayor of Alaska debate Joe Biden on foreign policy. Ooooooh, this will be good!
tomasky maybe has some good advice for Obamanians.
this is the best pick mccain could have made!. obama's speech is no where to be heard, mccain's in the spotlight now.
this pick is amazing i loved romney, but he wouldnt have had the the same meaning as this.
haha, that was great thanking hillary, a ferrraro. that was very well played.
they will defiently make the base come out big for this and hillary supporters come out big aswelll who still arnt behind obama.
A wonkish fact, perhaps, but McCain's allies managed to defeat the attempt to add ANWR drilling to the Republican platform. Disconnect?
I feel compelled to make a second comment. To those who feel that this is McCain 2008 turning back into McCain 2000, you could not be more wrong. The maverick is a person that doesn't pander to the public. Nothing except pandering could explain McCain's choice of Palin, inexperienced and staunch anti-abortionist, as VP. If anything, it only shows how less of a maverick John McCain is, going for a surprise (and bad) VP pick instead of someone that governs well.
Notice how all the pundits are saying, "I have never met her".
How she handles he intro roll-out interviews will be crucial. Any faux pas or stumbles will be magnified under the intense spotlight she will be under for the next few weeks.
Any misstep like her "what exactly does the VP do" [paraphrased] statement could be tragic...
but every reporter in the country & world practically already knew Biden. Maybe they will need to send Palin on a whirlwind world tour, yah ?
best of luck to her & her family.
but if I lived in AK I would not like my governor to jump ship after less than 2 years on the job...
Gosh, Ross....looks like McCain is in trouble. What a dynamic poll that was
I completely agree with your last point, Nate. While I was watching her speech, I thought to myself, 'Wow, this person probably looks much better on paper.'
Gallup,
Obama up 49-41.
Also, until a couple weeks ago she seems not to have known what the VP did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUHRv3ipLE
Why exactly are people saying she will help in the west? Because she is pro NRA? The most powerful lobby in the nation would never vote for Obama anyway.
The Palin pick forfeits any shot at a good split with Hispanics. Opens up lines of attack with associations with big oil. Icy Suburban Republican Women are already pragmatic republicans and would vote for whatever the GOP threw on the ticket.
I guess we'll see how smart the McCain campaign is...but this does not strike me as a premeditated decision at all. I guess we'll see how accurate their knee-jerk reflexes are.
"Is she equal or better than Biden? Yes."
BAHAHAHAHA. You've gotta be kidding me. Biden is going to wipe the floor with her at the debates. McCain's best hope is to do what the GOP does best: Character assassination. They can't run on the issues. You've got a man who voted with Bush and Co. 95% of the time and a woman with less experience than the guy they're saying is too inexperienced to be President.
Ads a la Ford's "Playboy" and Kerry's "Wolves" are the only way the GOP will take the White House in November. And I fully expect them to start any day now.
"Wow, listen to how much McCain's messaging has changed overnight. He's now running as the Washington reformer/outsider again."
Where have you been, Nate? Didn't you see his TV ad, where he was touting himself as "the original maverick"? McCain never dropped the reformer/outsider image, though maybe people have been more distracted by his increased criticism of Obama.
"Well, McCain sure impressed me with his spontaneous impulsiveness, despite being like a 100 years old. The pick of Pali reinforces his message of being a maverick reformer.
But how's this going to sit with a GOP that traditionally backs older white men on their tickets. And to a South that doesn't know who the hell Sarah Palin is?"
Limbaugh likes her so that kind of answers that question.
One of the talking points is the supposed 27% of Clinton supporters backing McCain - a number that surely declined over the convention.
Regardless, do we have any good sense of where these voters are geographically distributed? If it's just that virtually all of Clinton's West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas voters are going to McCain then that's most of the 27% explained in a way that costs Obama nothing. If they're centered in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida, it's a larger problem.
What, if anything, can be inferred about the geographical distribution of Hillary hold-outs?
RCP average is now back up to Obama +3.9 %
and Favorable Obama +4.5
Well, she made some rather disparaging comments about the office of the VP as recently as four weeks ago.
And she's barely been in office and is already under investigation.
And the women here in the office are using words like "token", so yeah...I have to agree with our Mr. Silver here.
Paper good, practice bad.
The blatant gender-pandering nature of the pick means that we won't have to wait to see how it goes over. Polls will reflect the sentiment almost instantly. Then people will research who she is and what she stands for and they'll settle.
pluckon said...
"It's going to be fun to watch the Mayor of Alaska debate Joe Biden on foreign policy. Ooooooh, this will be good!"
Don't be so confident, my friend. Biden's weakness is WOMEN, fine looking women.
Knowing what Biden is like, his reaction to this news must have been "IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE?!?!?"
haha, william you are wrong, obama clearly said lastnight mccain's voted 90% of the time not 95. and also for all thoses who say she doesnt have forigen policy xp. true she doesnt
but neither does your guy obama he's gone from state sen to us sen no forigen policy xp at all.
if mccain were to be a heartbeat away and she'd be pres why couldnt she just add a vp to her ticket to give her advice...isnt that what obama did? yes i believe it is.
I have read numerous accounts on here as to why Palin should not be your worst nightmare...
But they are wrong.
Palin does not take experience off the table. Here is why...
1. She has executive experience. Obama has none.
2. She ran a city of the same size as Obama's State Senatorial District. She reformed it's government successfully and was well liked in the process.
3. She has a track record of reform in Alaska as Governor. She has tangible accomplishments at making change happen. Obama has none.
Being a Senator is quite different that being an executive. Biden nor Obama have ever actually "run" anything. At least McCain commanded a decorated, large Navy Squadron where he also reformed it from a low-performer to THE top performer.
Palin also ensures that Obama will not win the female vote. Palin is earthy, connects with people and has done difficult job while raising 3 kids.
If you call her out of touch, you lose credibility, while offending every mother out there.
She will pull in the disaffected Hillary waverers in droves.
She also blunts Obama's bounce and the desire to get on the bandwagon of history. Now McCain has a nice historical bandwagon to latch onto as well.
They will introduce her as the "Next Next" President of the United States, as if to suggest a vote for her now, is a vote for her in 4-8 years.
She is not your typical Republican, and the GOP needs to send a message that they are reinventing themselves but with the same core values around individual initiative rather that collective initiative, less government that delivers more, and low taxes and strong economic investment.
She is a pargmatic reformer, like McCain. She cracks heads and gets things done.
This is how she will be presented, and it will be compelling.
Obama's speech is no longer today's headline. It is all about Palin.
This is not checkmate, but Obama has been checked.
He gave a great speech, but it had enough problems in terms of new politics vs. old politics contradictions, promising the world without showing HOW you can deliver, and then the Hollywood aspect of it did nothing to reduce his self-aggrandizing persona.
Obama's speech delivered Hope, but in the context of tearing America down and pointing fingers everywhere but at his party, by telling us that things are so incredibly bad, yet 70% of people believe their personal financial picture is improving.
Populist Pessimism always gets trumped by Patriotic Optimism...every time. Americans are, by nature, optimists.
Palin is an optimistic figure. She will fit nicely with the narrative that will shape McCain, which is as a fighter, who has gotten kicked in the teeth, but gets back up.
They will say McCain got kicked in the teeth in the primaries, carried his own bags while campaigning, and got back up.
They will say that America got kicked in the teeth in 1980, but with the help of Ronald Reagan got back up.
They will say that America got kicked in the teeth on 9/11, but got back up.
They will say America got kicked in the teeth in Iraq, but got back up.
They will say America got kicked in the teeth with the housing crisis, but is getting back up.
They will say that Barack Obama, in his acceptance speech kicked John McCain in the teeth, and he is still standing.
...and Sarah Palin and her salt of the earth family with traditional values will embody how and why we always get back up.
Heavy stuff...this is your worst nightmare.
Uh uh - you McCannites don't get to play the "sexism" card every time this pick is criticized. It is not sexist to point out how sparse this woman's resume is. She is a lightweight. She earned her political chops by serving as Cit Councilwoman & Mayor in a pop 9,000 town and then a couple of years as Gov of Alaska. Before that she was beauty queen & TV sports reporter. To think that that somehow pegs her as Presidential timber is laughable. Her resume is sparse - that's just the way it is and it has nothing to do with her gender. Dan Quayle faced the same issues, and Palin shouldn't get a pass just because she is a woman. Frankly, the real sexists are those who seem to be arguing that she should get four high wide ones and head down to first base just because she has a uterus.
And I don't want to hear anymore of this crap about Dems being scared of "strong women". Dems were the FIRST party to put a woman on the ticket, we had the most serious run for President by any woman candidate this year and have had many strong female cabinet members (and a Supreme Court appointee) in the past. Dems have proven that we respect strong women, rather than insult them with cheap, patronizing political ploys like McCain's desperate VP pick today.
I think it's safe to say that this pick could make the Clintons more eager to campaign on Obama's behalf. Sarah Palin would be a more likely rival in 2016 than an aging Joe Biden.
Glenn in Colorado said - She'll go on Leno and show a great pic of herself holding up a 50 pound salmon. This women could go into any working class bar in the county and have evry guy in the place talking fishing and hockey with her.
She is extremely telegenic. She's attractive and is comfortable on camera. She's done sports broadcasting. Her husband's got a goatee and is a "Deadliest Catch" Alaska fisherman and oil field worker.
This pick is genius.
Could not agree more....after her story gets going its going to be very effective. CNN just showed her holding a M-4 while in Iraq a few months back. Blue-collar is going to love this story and yes, she is very attractive.
There seem to be one main line of argument against Palin today, that she's inexperienced.
First, if you have a choice between experience on the bottom of the ticket vs. the top of the ticket, I think most people will take it at the top of the ticket. That line of argument is not gone for McCain, as some have argued.
Second, I'm noticing some hypocrisy among Obama supporters here. Obama is the change we've been waiting for precisely because he lacks Washington and foreign policy experience; but Palin is an awful choice precisely because she lacks Washington and foreign policy experience. You can't have it both ways.
If McCain had picked Pawlenty, Romney, Lieberman, or Ridge, Obama would be coasting to victory. This may be a hail mary and a high risk pick, she's more prone to make a major gaffe than any of those others, but it's the best choice he had.
give them credit for stepping on last night
but really, a friday noon rollout does not penetrate to the masses & especially the low-info voters who are TGIF on a holiday weekend.
The impact of this today will probably be minimal but the best they could come up with.
Now Gustav & Labor Day w/e will step all over this event today.
If I was the GOP I would keep her under wraps & teach her the talking points by rote until after the convention so she cannot make a faux pas in the next few days...
I am still waiting from one of you excited Republicans to tell me what this woman stands for, and what her opinions are on the most pressing issues in our country and around the world.
And did she really highlight her high-school credentials today or are you guys just playing?
PLEASE Obama people keep up with all your bantering and barbs about Gov Palin being an insult to women ... please ... please ... please ...
Well, Daily Kos says she's wants birth control banned and thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
I wonder if the MSM will ask her about stuff like this.
First of all, I can't understand why James Dobson and the Huckabee crowd are liking this pick so much. Sure, she's solidly anti-abortion, but so is McCain and they don't like him. I don't see how her social conservatism record is any more robust than his - she smoked pot when Alaska briefly legalized it and she vetoed legislation that would have blocked benefits for Alaska's same sex couples.
It's not that the GOP doesn't like women, they really like women who are pretty and fully compliant with the patriarchal ideology the party espouses. I think that Palin fits this nicely. I think McCain is hoping that both conservatives in his own party and Democrats tempted to defect will all see what they want to see in Palin. For the former, that means a devoted, pro-life family woman whose image doesn't challenge their social norms too much. For the latter, it means "woman!" plus the hope that they'll stick their heads in the sand on everything else this ticket stands for.
It looks like McGramps hired a sexy health care worker to help him with the stairs.
"Give me your arm my dear! Heh! Heh!"
Daughter? It looks like his GRAND-Daughter.
Whatever chance Palin has of coming off experienced enough to step into the job as President, just standing next to McCain undercuts that.
She WILL do better in isolated situations where she can appear on TV WITHOUT the geezer.
About the best you can say for McCain is that VP picks don't matter much. It's just important to get somebody who can attack the other guy and won't get in the way.
Biden does that. Palin? Not so much. This looks more like he's trying to shore up HIS image than getting someone who will help him make the case against Obama.
She's charming and likable, but she's about the furthest thing from what we conventionally understand to be "Presidential" as can be imagined.
Well, I guess it's time to update your "conventional" understanding of "presidential" then.
As Obama also acknowledged himself last night, he also doesn't share a "traditional pedigree" with past presidents either. But isn't that great? Isn't it great that we finally have two presidential tickets which reflect the true diversity of this country?
McCain is toast. Such an impetuous, panic-driven selection.
From: http://trumantolong.blogspot.com/2008/07/alaska-update-palins-troopergate-and.html
" In a further stroke that may make the situation worse for Palin, the man she hired to replace Monegan was revealed to have been investigated for sexual harassment. Apparently, Palin knew about the allegations too, but deemed them (and still deems them now) meritless. The scandal is already beginning to cause a firestorm, and several longtime Palin critics are arguing that it typifies Palin's general style of doing whatever she wants and steamrolling those who disagree with her."
Joshua -
Obama voted with Bush 80% of the time...that will get pointed out.
They use funny math. 78% of all Congressional votes are procedural.
So McCain is the 10%, Obama is the 20%.
...and by the way, Bush has passed a bunch of big spending entitlements. He is no right winger, except on foreign policy.
1. Medicare Drug Benefit
2. NCLB that exploded educational funding, which Hillary and Biden voted for
3. Energy, which quadrupled spending on renewables, which Obama voted for
4. Farm Subsidies, which Obama voted for
5. Recent Housing bill, which Obama voted for
6. Economic Stimulus...
7. GI Bill...
The myth that voting with Bush is a hard right stance is just that...a myth.
Obama has voted with Bush nearly as much as McCain has.
This is fact.
I think that Romney was better that Palin.
But it´s over.
1. She has executive experience. Obama has none.
2. She ran a city of the same size as Obama's State Senatorial District. She reformed it's government successfully and was well liked in the process.
Are you fucking joking? Seriously. Obama's state senate distirct has as many people as Alaska. It might be the same physical size but... Aw, fuck it. You won't understand.
Um, Midpoint.
Obama's district has 800,000+ people in it. His district when he was state Senator was larger than ALASKA in terms of population.
Try to get your talking points straight.
By the way, happy 72nd birthday to John McCain! I have no doubt you will live past the average male lifepan of 75. I hope your melanoma stays in remission!
But if it doesn't, I am relieved that Sarah Palin is there to pick up the reigns of the most powerful nation in the world.
MidpointMan just got my vote.
Dems best back off of Palin before she comes and kicks your a**, dumping the arugula salad in your lap and smacking you upside the head with your French bottle of wine
Spot on, Jackson.
You think the Clintons were faking it before? They're gonna be riding OBAMA to the finish line. Dear Lord, what was McCain thinking??? This pick's becoming more insane by the second.
Seriously, what is he going for, the "I'd hit it" vote?
Gallup Daily: Obama Stretches Lead to 8 Points (pre-acceptance speech).
Barack Obama leads John McCain by 49% to 41% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking, as he continues to rise in the polls coincident with the Democratic National Convention.
Obama Regains Support of Conservative Democrats.
Barack Obama’s gain in support among registered voters from Monday to Wednesday of this week was in part due to gains among conservative Democrats -- the group among whom the Democratic nominee had lost ground last week as he slipped to an overall tie with John McCain.
And Palin possition is very different that Hillary´s possition.
I don´t see women Hillary supporters voting Palin.
The comparisons to Quayle are not apt. Palin seems to be more like a Ferraro to me. And like Ferraro, part of the reason she is the pick is because so many high-profile candidates want nothing to do with the ticket this year.
Cugel -
Go on, attack her for inexperience.
She will say...tell me how running a city, governing a state and raising 3 kids makes me inexperienced?
Do you really want to lose 70% of women? Sounds like it...
You are playing with fire, and my guess is that Biden will set himself on fire if he goes there.
He will toxic to white working women.
Jaiti,
"I am still waiting from one of you excited Republicans to tell me what this woman stands for, and what her opinions are on the most pressing issues in our country and around the world."
OK I'll playing, knowing that no matter how well I'll answer your question ... the question was rhetoric, and you don't actually care about the answer. I can answer such a question about any Democrat after any 10 minute speech.
1) Fiscal Conservatism
2) Anti-Corruption and Clean Government
3) Strong Military
4) Reduced Taxes
5) reducing the power of special interests
6) Reducing federal power in favor of state and local power
7) Pro-Life
8) National Security; by forceful projection of American power
9) Energy Independence
10) Iran needs to be confronted
11) Russian agression must be confronted
need more?
BECKY
and from what I gather the candidate Palin strongly supported in the AK primary this week [her Lt Gov Parnell] could not win the race for REP against Young, fer crissakes...
"2: She's supported drilling in ANWR, and her husband is an oil company exec- this gives credence to McCain's "Drill now" approach, and presents a face in response to Obama's "Windfall profits tax on oil companies" (I can picture Palin asking Obama, "Senator, why are you so eager to take away my husband's money?")"
She supports drilling that makes her husband rich? SHOCKING!!!!
Dario -
Palin is a reformer, not an ideologue. She is a social conservative, but has governed quite pragmatically.
You do not get 90%+ approval ratings by pissing everyone off...even in Alaska.
MidPoint is a good poster.
GiC-
Sources for (8), (10), and (11)? I mean, prior to her rollout speech?
yes, she´s a reformer.
But i think that it´s a response to try the Hillary voters.
MidPoint is a good poster.
For the most part, yes. But not when he spouts trash like I quoted. I don't read the rest of what he says because he's basing on such false facts that he can derive anything from it.
Keep it real.
DCM in FL:
Yep there is a spider's web of goodies for the dems to have at.
Talk about bad judgement. keep this man away from the big red button. Please
"Un-Presidential"? Really, why?
Would you really be saying that if she were an older white male?
I am fascinated by comments that suggest that Clinton supporters see this as a slap in the face. I think its possible that John McCain has done almost as much to help unite Democrats than all the Democratic Party Convention did all week. And I come back to the visual- just awful. 72 year old next to attractive 44 year old woman just looks baaaaad.
But what I think this pick might, just might do, is introduce, or reintroduce, a framing into the campaign. Maybe it isn't just a referenedum on Obama, or a referendum on Bush, maybe, just maybe it might also be a referendum on McCain.
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that this will be seen as an insulting "token" pick by women voters, or somehow a problem because she's younger and more attractive than Hillary.
I would be willing to bet that most of the anecdotes that have been related here were about women who have already decided they aren't voting for McCain. Don't be so confident that undecided women voters won't be attracted to Palin.
Her husband is a union member and she was a former union member...she is tailor made for the blue collar swing voters that Obama has never really locked down. She loves to hunt and fish and I bet she likes her whiskey hard...kinda like Hillary does on the campaign trail.
"Un-Presidential"? Really, why?
Would you really be saying that if she were an older white male?
Like McCain you mean? Sure!
Palin's approval ratings in AK were falling already because of the abuse of power stuff.
we will see where it stands after next week & beyond.
often there is a negative backlash to a short-term ambitious pol jumping ship so soon - I mean she has only been on the job for 19 months !
VC: Would folks say that if she were an older white male? Yup. If the hypothetical older white male had her resume. And I say that as a proud graduate of the University of Idaho -- Idaho, Idaho, GO GO GO!
I think the Dems will ignore her for the most part. Why bother with the bottom of the ticket when it's so top-heavy. They'll put out some RR messages when after her convention speech and the debate, but other than that it will be all McCain-Bush, all the time. Maybe if she goes way off-message they'll roll Clinton or another XX Dem politician to talk about it, but that's about it.
I'm looking forward to Tina Fey playing her.
From http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/
Alaska Fun Facts Part II
The following cities have larger populations than the state of Alaska:
– New York, NY
– Los Angeles, CA
– Chicago, IL
– Houston, TX
– Phoenix, AZ
– Philadelphia, PA
– San Antonio, TX
– San Diego, CA
– Dallas, TX
– San Jose, CA
– Detroit, MI
– Jacksonville, FL
– Indianapolis, IN
– San Francisco, CA
– Columbus, OH
– Austin, TX
Austin is fun, but it’s not really a major city.
"BAHAHAHAHA. You've gotta be kidding me. Biden is going to wipe the floor with her at the debates."
Biden will debate himself and sound boring and quite possibly insane. I think you're overestimating him.
Listen to all the haters.
One of the highlights of the Obama video last night was when he talked about going "down state" to the small towns, and how he realized these people are like his grandparents.
Last night the democrats cheered that.
Today, they belittle the small town experience.
Lets be honest, this is the nightmare pick for the Dem's
Slowly but surely, wingnuts are gonna have second thoughts about this pick. Quite simply it was a panic move.
I myself, for a couple of minutes when the polls dipped, began having those thoughts about Biden. But then realised he had significant home-strech upside. And that was before the convention.
I think you all are reading too much into the "Presidential" quote. I didn't read it as sexist at all.
There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton is presidential.
Kay Bailey Hutchinson would be too.
Dan Quayle was not.
"Presidential" means somebody that you think is up to the task. It means somebody that has gravitas.
I don't think she had gravitas. She might be a great next door neighbor and a fun person to have a beer with but its hard to picture her negotiating with North Korea.
Perhaps I'm wrong.
Dems always do better with Jacksonians...Biden is one, but not at the top of the ticket. McCain/Palin is the ultimate Jacksonian position and is aiming for a combo West and Midwest approach
No fair, EVE!
I posted that in the last thread. Only without the listing the cities!
It's funny how McCain said, "his number one qualification for VP was someone ready to president."
He missed big time on this one.
There is no doubt Biden fits the bill, Palin not even close.
The RepubliCons spinning of this affirmative action pick, when they despise affirmative action is hilarious to watch.
Palin was picked b/c she had XX chromosomes. Spin you affirmative action pick boys...I'm enjoying watching it.
Several times the McPOW campaign leveled a barrage at Kaine for VP. The only element of the attack? As a freshman governor, he couldn't possibly be prepared for the rigors of the Vice-Presidency. Might revisit that I think.
And for the statistically minded in the crowd- Obama's state senate district had a larger population than Palin's state.
Good luck successfully running "Daisy" (3 AM, Reagan's Bear, Bush's Wolf) on Obama after this pick.
What you really mean is that she doesn't look like all the other presidents on the dollar bills.
The difference is you are saying it about her... she isn't saying it herself to throw mud at you.
I'm not a conservative, and I haven't been able to see her speak, but I've long thought that the way for a woman to make it into the executive branch of the US Government was not to seem Presidential in the traditional way. I mean, all the Presidents have been men, after all. It's not going to work to out-testosterone the boys.
Anyhoo, my reaction to this as a left-leaner was, at first, "uh-oh". I think it's a pick made explicity to combat Obama's western strategy: her pro-gun stance is going to play well in Colorado, Nevada, even here in Oregon, which I still don't think is in play. Also, it's easy to underestimate the degree to which Westerners tend to feel like everything east of the Rockies is a foreign country. That said, I'm not sure it's going to work; Alaska is still the back-of-beyond, even to those of us out west.
It's also a pick meant to give McCain's reformer image a swift kick in the pants. Palin ran for Alaska governor as a transparency-and-cleanliness candidate after taking a principled stand against what she saw as corruption in local Republican politics, and you can bet that's going to get a lot of play. The Republican brand is viewed as corrupt, but she also has a track record as someone who would like to repair it from within.
It's also an obvious pander fo Clinton Democrats that's probably not going to work. She's a died-in-the-wool social issues right-winger, and despite what a couple of websites would have you believe, most Clintonistas actually do have brains as well as hormones. The ones who value abortion and privacy rights aren't going vote for this ticket based solely on the VP's genitalia.
That said, I think if I were a right-leaner, I probably would have seen this and thought, "uh-oh" also. I think her relative lack of experience is something the McCain camp is not worried about in light of Obama's fairly short track record. They probably should be worried about it, though, because her governmental experience is deeply lacking, much moreso than Obama's, and I think they've taken one of their strongest attacks off the table.
The visual is also going to be striking, and one wonders whether it will be striking in a good way or a bad one. That could break any which way, and I don't think there's any predicting it. She could come off as childlike and unfit for office, and he could come off as old and dottery; or she could come off as young and energetic and exciting and he could come off as, well, energized and excited.
The thing this really does is, win or lose, build a Republican brand that didn't really have a lot of useful up-and-comers on the landscape. If that's what you want to do, your real options are Palin and Jindal. The Governator needs a constitutional amendment to become president, Tim Pawlenty is not only a nobody from nowhere but also kind of a nothing on the personality front. Other than that you've got, what, Romney? A country-club conservative who seems icky and could easily pull the Al Gore trick of losing his home state? Too many of those who would fit this description -- Condi Rice, Bill Frist -- have the stench of George Bush on them, and that's going to take a long time to wash off.
On the whole, I think this is a stronger pick than most people of my political leanings seem to. But it's still a risk.
Biden is solid gold. Repubs just don't realize it yet. I guess they just assume all gray haired old senators are like McCain
So what if she is not what we would think as being traditionally presidential?
Isn't that how we're in this mess in the first place?
just because she's a woman, i fear, is why you feel that way Nate.
Obama isn't any more qualified, and probably is less.
Mike -
News flash, the VP does nothing every day.
This will probably allow her more time with her kids.
Give me a break...the VP pick is symbolic. Nobody actually votes on anything other than the symbolism.
It takes the historical bandwagon vote off the table for Obama, that was the key.
Plus she embodies what every woman aspires to, she has it all. Power, a career, family, a nice, handsome husband, good looks...
Attack her, you attack Americana.
While Palin is an attractive candidate to the right for many reasons, she does some tough things to McCain's campaign:
1. She just broke his main line of attack.
2. The optics are terrible. The contrast between their respective ages make her look like his daughter.
3. Palin doesn't give good speech. Charitably speaking, her acceptance was boring and unremarkable. Once people get past the surprise of her gender compared to the CW, it will be hard to keep the spotlight on her.
4. Biden will bury her in the debates.
Once again, liberals, Obama was about to surge upwards and McCain just headed him off. Can you deny that?
Can we all please stop the debate over the population of Alaska and Obama's district? You're comparing apples to oranges, because they were serving in different functions.
Does it strike anyone else as odd that we're comparing the resume's of the DEM POTUS pick with the REP VP pick? I don't think it's a very strong argument for Dems to say she has less experience than Obama. Of course, she's not the Pres nominee.
Did any of you Libs here her speech. She just destroyed every speaker the Dems put up this week. She carries herself extremely well and speaks even better. She is shattering the 18,000,000 cracks her highness Hillary put in the glass ceiling. Her son is Army and preparing to ship to Iraq. She knows energy policy better than any Democrat including Richardson. She is a Grand Slam home run. She will lock in the religious base, she will bring millions of women to the Republican party, she will generate a buzz equal to Obama's. And she will do it from the VP spot! Outstanding!
5. Does McCain believe in paying her equally? Because he voted against equal work for equal pay!
I bet you there are about 1000 reporters currently booking tickets to Wasilla, AK.
"2. The optics are terrible. The contrast between their respective ages make her look like his daughter."
It makes McCain look grandfatherly and kind more than old and cranky.
"4. Biden will bury her in the debates."
Keep lowering the bar. Pretty soon, all Palin will have to do is breathe and speak English and she will be pronounced the winner of the debate.
Linus -
Excellent point about rebuilding the brand...GOP needs that now more than ever
And for the statistically minded in the crowd- Obama's state senate district had a larger population than Palin's state.
The Illinois State Senate district that Obama represented had about 220,000 people. Alaska has 680,000.
Now, if you're thinking of the place where she used to be mayor, Wasilla, AK, it has 8,500 residents as of 2005, although under 6,000 during Palin's term.
bjb1968 seems a bit out of touch with reality.
The left wants to portray Biden as Lunchbucket Joe who rides the train to work everyday...fine.
Yet Sarah Palin is unpresidential because she goes deep sea fishing with her husband?
Are you kidding me? You guys are reaching for straws.
She will come out there in a nice business suit and debate the issues with class and confidence.
Then you will call her un-presidential and offend women everywhere.
Go for it!
Hey GOPers
Ok, I can agree with you that Palin is a great pick - if the only other option was that he had to pick a anti-abortion conservative female.
But apparently Palin is 'ambitious' - oops, that attack line is also now off the table, same with the 'lacks experience' card & 'foreign affairs' card & 'age' card & 'different' card & 'flip-flopper' card & 'pandering' card & 'maverick' card & 'judgment' card, et al
Still, Palin is certainly a wiser choice than Meg Whitman or Fiorina !
but Hutchinson was your best bet for crossover voters IMHO, and Condi for the base.
Palin is a solid single, but she could very easily end up getting thrown out trying to steal second base...
but as Nate knows, it is possible to win the game playing small ball, hit & run - just not likely to prevail against the big heavy hitters in the extended World Series of politics that this election is about to enter into.
------------------------------
certainly not a WOW selection - more of a 'huh, WTF ?"
So... Mrs. Palin believes we should teach Creationism in Public Schools.
Does she also think they should be forced to teach the theory of evolution in parochial schools?
VC,
Obama will still surge ahead and win. McCain displayed utter desperation. News reports just out said that McCain camp admits the pick was heavily influenced by what he saw at the Dem Convention.
>>Once again, liberals, Obama was about to surge upwards and McCain just headed him off. Can you deny that?
The repub convention was always going to dampen Obama's lead anyway.
Honestly I have no idea what this pick will do to the polls - neither do any of us. That's what makes it an interesting decision if nothing else
1) Fiscal Conservatism
2) Anti-Corruption and Clean Government
3) Strong Military
4) Reduced Taxes
5) reducing the power of special interests
6) Reducing federal power in favor of state and local power
7) Pro-Life
8) National Security; by forceful projection of American power
9) Energy Independence
10) Iran needs to be confronted
11) Russian agression must be confronted
---------------------------------
Oh comeone Glenn you can do better than that. What did you just run off a RNC agenda? Maybe I need to rephrase my question. I want to hear specifics, her thoughts, not just talking points.
Fiscal conservatism? Funny how those talking points have bypassed this administration.
I bet she knows as much about the Iran and Russia's foreign policy towards this country as much as my 4 year old!
The best thing you guys can do is just ignore her.
Every attack makes her more and more sympathetic to swing voters.
The best that can be said is that Sarah Palin is probably the only pick McCain could have made that would have distracted cable news from Obama's acceptance speech. But that's only because the media is scrambling to come up with SOMETHING to say about her and to figure out how to pronounce her name.
Veeps almost never matter much except as a clear signal of the nominee's judgment. And on that score, this one is in the Dan Quayle category.
Of course Biden will destroy her in the VP debate. But it may not be as simple as the job Bentsen did on Quayle. Beating up a frat boy is one thing; beating up a beauty queen is another. The best the GOP can hope for is that Biden will be gracious and leave it to Ms. Palin to dig her own grave (or not.)
All in all, it was probably the only female choice available to McCain if Kay and Christie weren't going to be on the list. He has to hold the GOP base and this is clearly a "hail Mary" effort to siphon off some Clinton supporters. Will it work? Very doubtful.
Her comments about HRC at the end of her speech were crass and insincere.
The potential for backlash is high both on McCain's cynicism in this pick and if she keeps on this storyline.
A bold, impulsive and risky pick. Could be bordering on reckless both politically and from the "is she ready to be president" perspective.
McCain's temperament and judgement are highlighted with his first major decision pre-election.
All -
I do not know about you, but my next door neighbor is not a former mayor, current Governor with 3 kids and 90% approval ratings...
I could be wrong...
Try again.
Pretty soon McCain will get the obvious question.
Obviously, you think you are the most qualified person in the country to be president. Do you think that Sarah Palin is the second most qualified person to be president?
I'm not sure he can answer "yes" with a straight face.
Shap
Catholics don't have much of a problem with evolution, just Godless evolution. Evolution is taught in Catholic schools today.
""2. The optics are terrible. The contrast between their respective ages make her look like his daughter."
It makes McCain look grandfatherly and kind more than old and cranky."
McCain has to much of a temper to play as Regan, and I'm sure the Obama campaign will bring it up down the line. C-untry First!
Bjb,
Keep spinning. McCain was nervous as hell when they put the camera on him. Her speech was bad and he was hoping that it wasn't as bad to the American people as it was as he heard it in person.
Overrated wrote:
GOP welcomes the experience debate
That's weird, because Obama's inexperience has been the primary talking point from the GOP for several months. You seem to be implying that it is the Democrats that have been claiming that Obama is inexperienced, and that this pick now shuts that down. The only Democratic candidate that did mention inexperience is now backing Obama.
McCain just threw away "inexperience" as an issue, and you are trying to spin that as a positive thing? Weird.
Does the GOP "welcome the debate" regarding Palin being able to handle the job of Commander-in-Chief in the event of McCain's death? The Republicans have always been the ones so deathly afraid of someone without experience running the WH.
I see this as a tough sell to the Republican base, but they ultimately follow their marching orders anyway. She's Ferraro and nothing more than that. Don't over-sell her.
Crass and insincere?
Like every time you guys call McCain a war hero right before you blast him?
It is so predictably bad the way the the Dems do that. It comes off terribly insincere.
...but Palin did not blast HRC, did she?
Hmmmmmm....
OTF said...
Bjb,
Keep spinning. McCain was nervous as hell when they put the camera on him. Her speech was bad and he was hoping that it wasn't as bad to the American people as it was as he heard it in person.
Now that is some spin
Post a Comment